Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested another IAS officer in connection with the multi-crore bank fraud involving Haryana government departments and the Chandigarh administration. According to CBI sources, 2000-batch IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal was taken into custody during a late-night operation.<\/p>\n
Agarwal is the second IAS officer to be arrested in the high-profile case after IAS officer Ram Kumar Singh. Investigators allege that officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank colluded with senior government officers to siphon off hundreds of crores of rupees from bank accounts belonging to various Haryana government departments and departments under the Chandigarh administration.<\/p>\n
While the CBI has estimated the scam at around \u20b9657 crore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also probing the case, has pegged the loss to the public exchequer at approximately \u20b9645 crore.<\/p>\n
According to investigators, Agarwal\u2019s alleged role emerged during his tenure as Administrative Secretary of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department. The probe found that \u20b910 crore was fraudulently diverted from an account of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board maintained at IDFC First Bank\u2019s Sector 32 branch in Chandigarh. The account was operated under the Agriculture Marketing Development Fund.<\/p>\n
CBI officials claim that \u20b99.75 crore from the fund was transferred to SRR Planning Gurus Limited, while another \u20b925 lakh was routed to Mannat Contractors. Investigators allege that both entities were shell companies created solely to siphon off government funds.<\/p>\n
The agency has also linked Agarwal to alleged irregularities involving the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad. During his tenure as Administrative Secretary of the School Education Department, more than \u20b950 crore is alleged to have been misappropriated from departmental accounts.<\/p>\n
Investigators have further claimed that the bank accounts linked to both the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad and the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board were opened during Agarwal\u2019s tenure. According to CBI sources, mandatory finance department rules and procedures were allegedly ignored while opening and operating these accounts.<\/p>\n
The case has triggered concern within Haryana\u2019s administrative circles, with a total of eight IAS officers reportedly under scrutiny. While two officers have already been arrested, six others remain under investigation.<\/p>\n
Those under the scanner include IAS officers Mohammad Shayin, Mani Ram Sharma, Pradeep Kumar, Vineet Garg, Saket Kumar and D.K. Behera. Investigators believe further arrests and disclosures could follow as the probe progresses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested another IAS officer in connection with the multi-crore bank fraud involving Haryana government departments and the Chandigarh administration. According to CBI sources, 2000-batch IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal was taken into custody during a late-night operation. Agarwal is the second IAS officer to be arrested in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":67221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,37],"tags":[16144,16145],"class_list":["post-67220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-national","tag-cbi-arrests-second-ias-officer","tag-haryanas-multi-crore-bank-scam"],"yoast_head":"\n